Reviews

The King of Flashbacks strikes again!

I'm sorry but I have an axe to grind with this director. I decided to call him the King of Flashbacks while he calls himself Jedi....really?!? This is the third story he directed (and the main character is called Third! Ha, ha...get it?) and by now a pattern emerges. The screenplay is so thin that he needs to fill up 90min with something. And that something are flashbacks, very long silent shots and recaps of the things we had just seen. Here he went even further: the second episode starts with the 10last minutes of the first one! So basically, there is enough footage to make a lazy 30min episode but since he was asked to do two 45min episodes: this is the result. To be frank, even though this is pretty bad, it is not as bad as his previous two specials (Friends Forever and Fake Love) and I am scared to watch the last two episodes of this anthology series because he directed them!

The story is not that bad. Pai works as a travel companion for hire for an app. His girlfriend wants him to quit his job and when he refuses she breaks up with him. He drowns his sorrows in beer and is picked up, dead drunk, by his next customer, Third, who takes him camping and bird watching. It turns out that Third's girlfriend is also a travel companion who is spending the weekend camping with a customer at the same place. That customer is Pai's girlfriend. Realizing that the girls are actually dating, Pai drowns his sorrows and the boys console each other. Will they become more than friends?

I quite liked the story. The issue I have are with the director and writer. Lazy writing and even lazier directing. And even though there were fewer long silent shots here, the director's penchant for long flashbacks of the events we saw two minutes earlier, is still strong. It has been so long that I have not seen such obviously fake car driving as well. And even though I liked the final split screen scene as it announced the future, it was ruined by how fake it looked. The music is getting worse by the episode: I am fed up with the title song: they rearrange it differently to give it a different tone but it has become annoying.

Read More

All characters in this drama are unique

I really like the story line of this drama. The visuals and ost of this drama is very good. The main lead played by Xukai and Esther yu they have done a great job. They have a pure and best chemistry and it’s like match made in heaven. The drama storyline is also good. Other characters of this drama also done a good job. luo zhao yan played by wan peng, Xian qing played by fu xin bo,ming xu played by bai bing ke and ju shi fang played by zhao zhan. All have done outstanding job.
I fell in love with this drama and Xukai and Xinxin have great and pure chemistry.

You are going to love this drama and the storyline is also good and so I am not going to disclose anything. Please watch the drama

Read More

It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020)

The show delivers a multi-angled story and executes it quite well. It does well in invoking many different emotions from its viewers; backed by very polished production and a strong cast of characters to support the story. Even though the show is focused on the character-driven development it still provides an adequate well-rounded story to keep you hooked episode after episode. The plot's turning points aren't a complete blindside but when complemented by the very alluring presentation, it gives just enough leeway to catch you off guard at times.

The thematic styling works well although the Romeo & Juliet-esque, ill-fated lovers, will they or won't they back and forth shimmy between the main leads got a bit weary at times. Nevertheless, the show still manages to strongly deliver on both the bright and fun moments as well as the more emotionally heavy ones without compromising either or.

Those that make it to the finish line are rewarded with a developed journey of selflessness, healing, and acceptedness. And while the show does seem to romanticize mental health to some extent, the message is still loud and clear--- it's okay to not be okay.

Read More

WAY better than the movie

(Spoilers indicated below)

Usually I prefer to keep my reviews private, but seeing as this has zero reviews, I decided to leave my very lengthy thoughts here to provide some insight to those who want to watch this but are reluctant since there aren't any official English subs yet.

This review is coming from someone who watched the movie version first and was left very, very disappointed at how messy and hilariously bad it was. The series version makes so much more sense plot-wise and we get to understand each character more as well as see the relationships between them develop. We get to see how much Hope and Tawan value each other, how big of an asshole Seki actually is, how and why Teacher Wong absolutely despises Tawan, and much more. Although, without English subs and a decent understanding of Thai, I do agree that deciphering all of this is pretty difficult.

Story: My Tempo follows the journey of Hope, a musically-inclined second-year high school student. Hope plays the classical guitar with Seki in a duet called Four Hands. Hope and Seki have a fight one day which results in their duet splitting up and Hope's scholarship on the line. In his lowest moment, he gets to know Tawan, his classmate and an extremely clumsy pianist. Tawan sticks by Hope's side and helps him get back to playing with Seki again.

Of course there's more than just this- like there's Seki's fiasco with his girlfriend Riko, Teacher Wong being an absolute asshole from the start to the end, Tawan's stage fright hindering his dreams of playing on stage, Taekhun simply existing but it seems like he's always at fault, and many more. In the end, the series concludes kinda abruptly, sort of like an open ending where we learn what Hope's priority is and wonder how the future is gonna be for him with this decision. Oh and before I forget, yes, the ending is completely different from the movie. They don't skip to the future so the entire competition doesn't exist (thankfully).

Acting: I'd have to say the ones who impressed me the most are Chokun (Tawan) and Gorn (Seki). Chokun was almost made for this loser-like, kinda awkward, cheerful and optimistic, kicked puppy-looking role as Tawan. He did a great job at bringing out Tawan's character and making him so lovable and adoring. I especially loved the scenes where he was clearly going through a hard time but still acted all cheerful and pretended like everything was okay in front of Hope. Tawan and Arthit also felt like genuine brothers from the way they fought, made up, joked and listened to each other.

Gorn did a good job at portraying Seki as a stuck-up, selfish student who was also serious about love and music. There were times where he was so despicable I hated just looking his face, but that just proves how good he is. Out of all the characters, I think Seki is the one who showed the most development at the end.

Onglee didn't do the best job at being Hope, but he wasn't bad, I just feel like there can be much more room for improvement especially during the dramatic scenes. Gun as Teacher Roj felt like Gun being himself as Proxie's leader, warm and understanding and cares about his students very much. Kim as Teacher Wong was quite hilarious (I'm sorry), his angry acting just made me laugh sometimes. But he was convincing enough to make me despise his character throughout the show. Our little Victor had the smallest role out of everyone, his presence was too small to judge if his acting was good or not. I spent too much time fawning over how cute he was everytime he appeared on screen ;w; Same goes for Keen, although his role was bigger than Victor's, all he seemed to do was play the piano and be a cute little obedient bean all the time.




// spoilers start //

Music: The OST ขอบใจนะเพื่อน (Thank You My Friend) by Pchy and OMD was the perfect message from Hope and Tawan to each other. It hit especially hard when Tawan played it live at the end as a thank you to Hope, after hearing Hope play it only once during his evaluation. Whenever the Proxie members randomly sing it here and there, it always takes me back to this scene :")

Since this was a musical series, I had high expectations for live performances. It irked me a lot when their hands wouldn't match the notes when they were playing the guitar or piano. I know Keen is an extremely talented pianist and Gorn can play the guitar very well, so I'm glad that they got to show off their skills here. Hearing Onglee and Chokun's live vocals when they played Thank You My Friend was also very nice.

Rewatch: I'd definitely rewatch to pick up the details I missed and to see Hope and Tawan's cute moments together again <3

My favourite aspect of this is undoubtedly Tawan and Hope's friendship. Tawan did so much to help Hope that I'm starting to wonder if a friend this good actually exists in real life. Get you a friend who would be willing to dress up as a Thai mythical creature and embarrass himself in front of a crowd in exchange for winning back his former bandmates so that they can teach him how to play the guitar so he can have a chance at being Hope's new guitar partner and maybe by doing this he will stop being mad at me? The way Tawan's mind works astounds me. Hope also cared about Tawan no less, from taking the blame for him to delaying telling him about going back to playing with Seki and the Berkley scholarship because he was scared of hurting his feelings. The bond that they formed in such a short period of time was so special and irreplaceable. I also believe Onglee and Chokun got closer to each other after filming, and their chemistry in real life never fails to amuse me.

Another aspect I liked was the friendship between Tawan and the groups of seniors he encountered at the beginning of the series. It all follows a similar pattern- he tries to help them, he ends up getting them into trouble, he then makes up with them and they all become his friends who will become a big help to him in the future episodes. The journey they all went through together really highlights Tawan's character development.

However, this series definitely has its own downfalls. The overall plot was fine but some of the details just didn't make sense. How can a simple battle stage allow Tawan redeem a spot in the music program? What was the Mr. Jones evaluation even for then? Why did they decide to shoot this in Chiang Mai when none of the members can speak in Northern dialect? How has Teacher Wong not gotten in trouble for the things he has done to Tawan? And the entire ending scene was just unbelievable, there was no way Hope would've made it in time to watch Tawan's performance. But these are just minor details that can be overlooked and doesn't affect the plot that much, in my opinion.

// spoilers end //




In conclusion, I'd say this series is really worth a watch even if you don't understand Thai. I'd recommend watching the subbed movie first to get an overall idea on what's going on. Majority of the scenes from the first 3-4 episodes are shown in the movie, with some extra scenes giving more context. To my fujoshis... frankly, I wouldn't label this as a BL at all. This is a series about friendship, music and dreams, so don't hope for much because really, nothing romantic happens. But it would be a lie to say that I didn't ship Tawan and Hope. The kind of bond and care they developed for each other can beat some pairings out there and their scenes together are really very cute. Hopefully one day subtitles will be added and Proxie's international fanbase will grow <3

Read More

I want to fan-girl this dramaaaaa

HOW SHOULD I START!!!

firstly I want to talk about the story!!, the story is well written even if there are some changes, the writers didn’t spoil it !!, the character development of some characters is insane!! like I could relate to their growth of personality, and I didn’t know I will be so intrigued with political conflict? they make it interesting really !!, the story overall is amazing and even if there is some matters didn’t match or explained the plot will make you finish this masterpiece in few days!

Now let’s talk about the CHARACTERS:

Ning’er: to be honest she’s fall first or at least had crush on Xie Wei from their first life ?, like girl you want to be chocked like hell girl!! “ choke me like you hate me but you love me”, she admired Zhang Zhe , but didn’t really loved him that much bcz she always chooses herself and her comfort, even after she back in time, she still chose her comfort over what her heart or others thinks. Anyway this is not a bad thing really, bcz her second life she balanced this desire and become wiser of what her needs and others needs!!, and what make Xie Wei different is bcz he let her cross her comfort zone and cross her principles sometimes and it is not necessary a bad thing tho, he is the only one who helped her to overcome her past life and live normally.

Xie Wei: to be honest the story is around him not the FL ?, we only see his story from Ning’er perspective, anyway his personality is confusing as hell ? like he is a villain but not really an ordinary villain? he has a good reasons and good method? like he is a hero using villains tools and that why everyone who knows him well adores and protects him and specially respects him, he didn’y ask help of anyone he is simply attracted the people around him and if they helped him he will return the favor multiple times and if they hurt him of will they best results is dying really ?, yeah he is using the people around him but also taking care of them ?, he is a hero using villains tools as I said.

Yan line : best boy I will take him ?, for me he is better and greenest flag than Zhang Zhe !! like come on guys … he will die and fight for her and he respects that she’s not in love with him and didn’t bother… and his relationship with his father and his respect to the ML is so admirable really !! he is the Best man on the series!!

Zhang Zhe: our boring grean flag guy .. I love you man but what are you doing becoming depressed after lying ? and do a whole drama about it then accept it ???? and yeah u r rightous and all but u know that people have different personalities and you should act according to their personality man … like literally the first encounter with you was beautiful and u did a well scheme to capture the maid … why will you be stupid sometimes ?yeah he changed and learned that honestly is not always the best choice.. I love you man really , but I don’t know why u irritated me sometimes…

those are the main characters, the other characters were also charming, but I’m getting tired from typing !!

my comfort character is : lu Xian ( the businessman) the best friend of Xie Wei !! he is truly the definition of friendship!!

and ?? bye bye

Read More

This is my first review ever for a drama series. Just 2 episodes in and I’m loving it already. As someone who had suffered the Burnout Syndrome years ago, the story resonates with me so much. I was so moved by the female lead and I cried with the two leads at the end of Ep 2.

Male lead’s predicament also incidentally echoes the recent tragedy of an actor when he suffered a dramatic fall from grace. The line between right and wrong is blurred. Years of hard work and success could be destroyed just overnight.

The premise is dark and heavy yet the series injects hope and narrates its story in a bright and lighthearted manner. There’s in fact plenty of LOL moments. (Hyungsik is so funny ?)

Good story, great humor and brilliant acting so far. This healing drama deserves all of the hype and more. Hope it gets even better. Just stream it.

Read More

A cute fluffy drama

I'm going to be honest, the plot is paper thin and the characters are one-dimensional at best. Although I am giving this drama an 8 because it still gave what it needed to for it to be watchable. If you want a light fluffy drama to watch just to pass time this is what you're looking for. The main couple is is the stereotypical perfect couple and the second couple is so messy I would recommend skipping their episodes. I googled which episodes to skip and I think it helped improve the watching experience. Overall it was an okay drama and I would rewatch it if I was bored one day.

Read More

Strange and Lovely

When you watch the first episode you will be confused. It’s bizarre and pretty. It doesn’t quite connect in the ways you think it should. It’s like a sentence with only a predicate. That’s how the first episode left me.

The second episode makes more sense but feels out of place contrasted with the first. You realize here that the story you’re watching isn’t going from point A to B. You may wonder, as I did, if there were unusual
parallels happening between the stories in the two episodes.

Depending how your mind works, how much you immerse yourself in the story being told and how much you ponder what you’re seeing, you may start to put together pieces and hypotheses as early as episode three (perhaps two but I think there’s a higher chance of you hitting on the truth in three - one and two almost feel like an adjustment period to me).

The episodes are short, roughly 25 mins, and there are only six of them. If you can stick it out through the puzzling confusion, the feeling like the ground is tilting under you when nothing looks like it’s moving, then you’ll be rewarded as the threads weave themselves into a tapestry you can begin to make out the picture of.

Rossi and Meen are phenomenal in this! They both show quite a bit of range in their skills and exhibit a subtly and nuance in their physical expressions you don’t get the pleasure of witnessing often. (It’s similar to the experience watching Pond and Nike in 180 Degrees Longitude, except that was a much heavier story so their work is on an entirely different level from what you see here.) There are a couple scenes where the emotions running across Rossi’s face, through his eyes and through his body speak louder than any dialogue ever could. Meen displays such tenderness in his gaze, the kind that makes you truly believe without a doubt that Tiew is in love.

As others have said, this is not for those looking for the sort of surface-level stories and fluffy, formulaic romance you get in the BL industry. There is nothing wrong with wanting that, I watch plenty of it myself. This series simply is not that. This is a thoughtful, quiet romance that happens to take place between two young men. Their genders and other works are all that coincide with the BL genre.

If you are up for it, however, you should come watch them fall in love. Experience their heartbreak and happiness. It’s genuinely beautiful.

Read More

This sucks

This is possibly the only TV show in general that I've ever written and published a review for before finishing it but this show is just so hard to watch that I gotta take a break from watching (Not dropping, just it will take a while to finish, I will update the review when I do) but I need to get my words out there before I completely forget.
No need to summarise this show, read the synopsis and you'll understand (I'm probably stupid but I thought it was based off a real account, it isn't lol). Going into this I knew it would annoy me to some extent, but I figured Kazuma (ML) would get revenge, have development, or just something good would happen to him, but no, out of the 5 episodes I've seen Kazuma literally has zero wins, no development, and his "wife" is just getting worse and worse, like not ONCE has he stood up for himself, and his attempts at adultery (it's implied several times) never even comes close to fruition. As a western man I probably am missing some characteristics particular to Japanese families, but as a man with self pride it hurts me to see him being bullied so badly by his wife and despite all of his neighbours knowing, doing nothing to help him, and I really hate that one p***k that seemingly idolizes Sanae. I also do most certainly not like Sanae (FL) is raising their daughter, I don't think I need to explain why.
Like what someone said in the comments, it's not that funny that they wrote this drama about a very serious yet socially sensitive topic in a comedic way throughout the entire run. If you know me then you'd know I enjoy comedy as much as the next even in serious shows, but then they have to at the very least show development with said problem, in ~4 hours of TV, they've managed to not show any of that, not even accidentally.
Anyways, nothing is good about any part of this show but ironically the ONE thing most J-Drama from this period do wrong: the lighting.
The main 2 characters are bad for reasons above, everyone else is too minor to have real opinions on, though that Ryousuke guy seems to ALWAYS be the root of everyone failing their plans.
Don't watch this show, or at the very least don't binge it.


P.S. to dispel any of these comments:
1) I'm not suggesting for Kazuma to be overpowering and abusive and whatnot in return, I just want him to be more assertive and hold his ground like a man should. Marriage is a give and take relationship, not one or the other.
2) I although may be implying adultery is acceptable to do, i don't actually believe so. Just the other woman in Kazuma's life would be a lot more bearable for him than his current wife. The other 2 guys committing adultery is unacceptable considering their wives are what I'd say are common ideals in Japan.

Read More

Not just A Drama

"Born to Run" presents a poignant narrative that delves into the complexities of familial relationships, particularly between mother and child. The standout performance of Zhong Chuxi as the paralyzed Chen Anxin is truly mesmerizing, capturing the audience with her emotive portrayal. However, it's not just Chuxi's performance that shines; the entire cast delivers stellar performances, creating a palpable chemistry on screen.

The heart of the drama lies in its touching depiction of the mother-child bond. It poignantly illustrates a mother's unwavering desire to provide the best for her child, juxtaposed with the challenges of acceptance and understanding from the child's perspective. Anxin's journey to overcome her obstacles is profoundly moving, tugging at the heartstrings of viewers.

Throughout the series, viewers are treated to heartfelt dialogues that resonate deeply, further enhancing the emotional impact of the story. "Born to Run" is not just a drama; it's a touching exploration of love, resilience, and the unbreakable bonds of family.

Read More